SAlkantay/machu picchu

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peru

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Directly to the north of Salkantay is where you will find Machu Picchu. The ancient town is located at the end of a ridge that extends down from the mountain.

Deep in the Peruvian Andes you will find the Vilcabamba Mountain range. There lies Salkantay, the highest peak located about 60 kilometres west of the city of Cusco, which was once the religious and administrative centre of the Inca Empire. What makes this mountain unique is that it is perfectly in line with Machu Picchu. Exploring Salkantay Valley is one of the greatest activities you can partake in while visiting Peru.

WHY WE LOVEsalkantay/Machu picchu

This area in Peru is known for the breathtaking sights across the land as well as across the sky. In fact, the Southern Cross constellation appears right above Salkantay’s summit when it’s at its highest point in the sky. The relationship between the stars, Salkantay, and Machu Picchu is so special that the Incas believed this alignment to be associated with powers pertaining rain and fertility. They also considered Salkantay to be one of the main deities controlling the weather and the fertility in the western region of Cuzco.

There are various ways of reaching Machu Picchu. You have probably heard of the most popular and overrun, Inca Trail. This leads us to a second factor that makes Salkantay special; it offers a different, lesser-known alternative to reaching Machu Picchu. Due to its high altitude and strenuosity, this trail gets less travellers making the experience more enjoyable and intimate. You’ll get to take in the beautiful sites from up top Savage Mountain as well as witness a multitude of ecosystems along the way.

Salkantay is also bordering the dramatic Apurimac Cañon, renowned for its Andean condors and less visited than the world famous Colca Cañon and is also home to the hidden secret, the breathtaking Humantay Glacial Lake, for which we know a special trail to access away from most travellers.

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DID YOU KNOW?

Salkantay is known as ‘Sallqantay’ in Quechua.

The name Salkantay derives from a Quechua word meaning wild, uncivilized, savage, or invincible.

The mountain’s elevation is 6,271 m (20,574 ft).

Salkantay is also known as “Savage Mountain”.

The mountain was first climbed in 1952 by a French-American expedition team comprised by 8 men named; Fred D. Ayres, David Michael, Jr., John C. Oberlin, W. V. Graham Matthews, Austen F. Riggs, George Irving Bell, M. Bernard Pierre, Jean Guillemin, and a woman named Claude Kogan.

OUR salkantay/Machu Picchu WILDTHENTIC EXPERIENCES

This five-day adventure not only allows you to hike up the most spectacular routes the area has to offer but it also allows you to camp in style. Travelling from Salkantay and hiking up Machu Picchu is an experience worth being on any bucket list!

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